WOMEN in executive roles in Wales earn an average £5,593 less each year than their male counterparts, according to figures released by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

WOMEN in executive roles in Wales earn an average £5,593 less each year than their male counterparts, according to figures released by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

The figures, gathered in the National Management Salary Survey, show that the average male in an executive role in Wales earned a basic salary of £27,934 over the 12 months to August 2012, compared with £22,341 for a female in the same type of role.

The pay gap is most significant at higher levels. In UK-wide figures, female junior executives earned slightly more than men (£363), but the average basic salary for a woman director was £127,257 – £14,689 less than that for a man (£141,946).

Women also lose out when it comes to bonuses, with the average for a female executive being £3,726 compared to a man’s £7,496.

The figures also show that while 69% of junior executives are women, only 40% of department heads and 24% of chief executives are female.

And more than twice as many female directors were made redundant as men (7.4% compared to 3.1%) in the year to August.

Barbara Chidgey, chairwoman of CMI Cymru, said: “A lot of businesses have been making determined efforts to increase the numbers of women on their boards but we’ve still got a lot to do on equal pay and equal representation in top executive roles.

“Women make up almost three out of four of the workforce in junior managerial posts but only one out of four at the top.

“We need serious change in relation to pay and representation of women in the workplace in order to deliver better leadership and management, the essential ingredient required to drive forward every business.

“Companies are missing out on the full range of management potential at a time when we need to be doing everything we can to boost economic growth.”

In a separate report the number of women employed in senior managerial roles in Wales is predicted to rise by more than a quarter by the end of the decade.

At the same time tens of thousands of female jobs in lower-grade secretarial and production line roles will disappear.

The forecasts for 2020 are revealed in the Working Futures Report for Wales, published by the UK Commission for Employment for Skills (UKCES).

According to the UKCES report, there will be 8,000 more female managers, directors and senior officials in Wales in 2020 than there were in 2010 – an increase of 25.7%.

This is more than twice the percentage growth in males in these roles (12.8%), although the actual number of men employed will rise by a higher 10,000.

Similarly in professional occupations the number of women employed is forecast to grow by more than a fifth (21.3%), compared to just 8.2% among men.

On the other hand, in administrative and secretarial roles the number of women employed is expected to fall by 16.1%, while male employment will grow by 10.1%.

And in process, plant and machine operative roles female employment will fall by a shocking two-fifths (40.1%), while male employment will drop by a more modest 7.9%.

These falls reflect the changing occupational profile in the Welsh economy. By 2020 process, plant and machine operative roles will make up just 6.6% of jobs in Wales – a dramatic fall from 11.8% in 1990.

Over the same 30-year period skilled trades have fallen from 18.3% to 13.7%, and administrative and secretarial from 13.3% to 9.9%.

Meanwhile managers,directors and senior officials have risen from 6.9% to 9% of the Welsh workforce.

Christine O’Byrne, policy and research manager at Chwarae Teg, said: “The Working Futures report suggests a positive trend for women’s employment in Wales with a shift from unskilled and administrative roles to high-level occupations.

“At present, women predominate in part-time, low-paid roles which are often below their skill levels.

“National figures show that the level of qualifications that women achieve is increasing and we are pleased to see that better use of these skills is expected in Wales as we move into the future.

“Our own work suggests that, the glass ceiling has been raised and while women are moving into management roles, they are held back when it comes to senior posts.

“Employers need to take steps to support women to reach their full potential so that Wales can enjoy the benefits of a highly skilled workforce.”

The educational level of the Welsh workforce will continue to rise, according to the UKCES report. In 2000, 5% of Welsh workers held master’s degrees or the equivalent; by 2020 that will rise to 14%.

Twelve years ago a quarter of the workforce held qualifications higher than A-level or equivalent, in 2020 it’s expected that 42% will.

Overall, the educational profile of the Welsh workforce is little different from the English one, and varies only slightly from the Scottish and Northern Irish, with the Scottish having a higher proportion educated above A-level or equivalent.